Unknown Contract
by Siera-Knightwalker
Summary: Kyoko Kanagi is not taking 'no' for an answer. With an apparent connection to Kazuma that he cannot remember, she grieves and desires. With a lost love, she perseveres the find meaning with her existence.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kaze no Stigma. *cries* why?! Why me?!**

"You're here I see." The head of the Kanagi family spoke quietly. He knew that a great danger was coming soon and they had need of her powers. He didn't want her to be revealed as she was akin to their clan's secret weapon but they would need all the help they could get. And he had delayed their meeting enough.

"What do you need of me?" A feminine voice came from the shadows of the room. Her voice was soft and had a whispery quality. Though she was officially a member of their family, she was mostly uninvolved in their family matters. She did as was asked and in return she was left out of any family problems. That was their deal.

"Protect them. If needed, you can reveal yourself. But only if you have no other option. They might need you more in the future." He could almost feel her glare.

"I'm not a replacement for those slaves of yours. You can't tell me to stay hidden."

"Still acting so hostile, I see. Is it still about Kazuma?"

She opened her eyes and stepped into the light of the room. Her dark hair shone against her exposed skin. A collar-like cloth covered the bottom half of her face but her voice remained unrestricted. Her top- or what seemed like one- ended just below her full breasts. The sleeves of her top were non-existent; in fact, they curved inward to exposed more of her skin. The cloth from the sides of her breasts extended to meet what seemed like sleeves that fully covered the rest of her arms leaving her shoulders bare. She wore loose pants as bottom. But only because he explicitly requested her to be wearing proper pants. She seemed to defy every order given to her, as much as she could. Unlike what people thought, she could fight in those clothes. "Not hostile. And you know this, it was always about him."

He sighed. She really was stubborn. But then again, so was their whole clan. "He probably doesn't even remember you. And even if he does, you're very different now. He's mending his relationship with his family now." For a moment, she looked at him stoically before smirking in amusement.

"You just want him to fall in love with Ayano." He didn't deny it. His wind magic was very strong after all.

"I believe she would bring him closer to our family, and he would mature Ayano." Ayano was stubbornly naïve. She was protected by the family and in turn, she sought to protect them all. She was an idealist by heart.

"If that is all you desire, I can help them in the open better than hiding from them." She almost seemed hopeful.

"Are you sure you wish to reveal yourself after so long in hiding?" She pouted in response.

"I was training! Not hiding. And I'm still doing the jobs you tell me to, don't I?" He laughed at her expression. She was so bi-polar sometimes.

"You should go now. They'll be reaching the site soon." She silently opened the door.

"He really wanted to save Ren, you know? He still would have gone after him if you hadn't paid him. But thank you for making it easier."

"I wonder what he would do if he knew you now." She laughed softly in response.

"He'd be very angry at me."

"Go Kyoko." This was the reason why she was called back home. And it wasn't like he could stop her, now that she knew. The door opened and without a sound, she disappeared into the night.

Even as Kyoko travelled fast, she knew she wouldn't arrive on time. And honestly, she didn't want to. She had been brought back home from Russia because Kazuma was back. She had known him before and she was very familiar with his aura. She was sure she could pin-point it almost anywhere, and she had. She was also the one who had told her 'father' of his presence in the compound and he had immediately rushed to his location, giving her enough time to control her reaction and hide.

She had been very amused by Ayano's actions. As if Kazuma would kill anyone from the Kanagi family. She wouldn't, and she had spent a lot of time with them. After Kazuma kicked out, she too left. She respected their goal but she had no intention of following their traditions. So, she made a deal, and left.

Kyoko was distracted from her thoughts by the sight of Ayano lying on the ground. She immediately stopped flying. Ayano was unconscious and there were a few cuts and bruises on her face. Her breathing slowed down and she felt the wind pick up. That was when she noticed the miasma under her skin. She almost flinched at the sight. Her eyes hardened at the sight. She loosened Ayano's tie to expose her throat.

"Get away from her!" Ren's voice sounded just before she jumped away with Ayano. She looked back at the scorched area with a little amusement. Two figures landed on the ground and she looked at them even when she knew who they were. She stood up and saw Kazuma looking her over. She carefully controlled her reaction before turning her face to Ren. Ren on the other hand, looked at her doubtfully.

"Kyoko-nee?" She flicked his forehead at her disbelief.

"You're late. What have you been up to, sleeping beauty?" He pouted and rubbed his forehead in response. He softly mumbled something about not sleeping but being sacrificed to a demon.

"You're a Kanagi?" Kazuma seemed more amused than doubtful.

"Yup, and here to save the day." She struck a pose and smirked at him. Their introductions were interrupted by Ren's worried voice.

"Why isn't she waking up? Her wounds are not serious." She turned a little serious.

"It's the miasma from his aura. Its very strong. It went into her body and is destroying it from the inside." Ren turned his big worried eyes at them.

"Can you help her somehow?" She turned to Kazuma too. She had a way to save her but she really wanted to hear him first. He sighed.

"Yeah, but the stuff's really expensive." He took out a vial with a golden coloured liquid inside it. "I don't really know if I should." Flames burst from Ren's body and he threateningly asked for the vial.

 _Flames of Honest Anger. So beautiful._

Just before Kazuma was about to agree, she put her hand on Ren's head.

"Don't be such a hot head, kid. I'm here too, you know? You don't need the elixir for this." She saw Ren's eyes go round when he understood exactly what he was demanding. He looked at Kazuma and then at the vial. "Leave it to me."

She turned back and tuned out Ren and Kazuma. She sat beside Ayano before gently opening her mouth. She opened hers and felt the heat of a flame inside her mouth. She put her lips on Ayano's and exhaled the steam. The divine flame and the purifying golden flame worked well with each other. The divine flame was blessing and healing Ayano's body, while the purifying flame burnt the miasma. She slid her hand to Ayano's throat and felt her body heat up. When her pulse returned to normal, she pulled away and sat back. When she sighed, a puff of steam went out as well. She turned back to see Kazuma looking slightly impressed but Ren's face was red in embarrassment.

"She'll wake up later. We have work to do, now."

"You want to leave her here?" Kazuma glanced at Ayano before looking at her. She almost started teasing him before she sighed. She didn't want to revert back to her old ways. It would be embarrassing after she worked so hard to create a good impression.

"Yeah yeah. Don't be such a nag." She waved his concern and amusement away. She almost felt him get annoyed. He had always hated being called a 'nag'.

"He's not a nag! He's concerned about her." Ren came to his rescue with his hero worship.

"I'm not concerned, kid. She's supposed to be a part of the mission. I need to complete it or I don't get paid." Kazuma seemed really annoyed to be repeating the same things over and over again.

"Yeah. And its not like he can just threaten the clan head, can he?" She teased Ren but by then, he was reduced to tears.

"Its okay. She'll be fine. After all, its Ayano." She smiled at him.

Ren seemed slightly reassured at that. Kyoko bumped her head with Ren lightly before she turned her attention to the watching Kazuma. He simply pulled them both towards him and flew off. She 'eep'ed silently before blushing a little. She really hoped neither of them noticed. She felt Kazuma's eye on her face and her blush darkened. So much for wishful thinking. But for some reason, she felt almost comfortable flying inside a tornado-like thing with Kazuma and Ren.

"Look." Kazuma flew right above him. They soon noticed the affect his miasma had on the ground and dropped Ren to deal with the spirits, while they went to attack the demon.

"You were there when I came to the main house. I sensed your presence. Who are you?" Kazuma's voice was quiet and he looked slightly troubled.

"An old friend. We were friends before." She smiled sadly at him.

"I didn't have friends. At least I didn't remember any." She looked away at that and breathed in and out. She knew he didn't remember her, but it still hurt. He was her only friend, after all. It was normal that she felt hurt.

"We'll talk later. We've got a demon to deal with." Kazuma silently agreed and threw a few wind blades. He stopped and turned around to face them. It was pitiful. A human to willingly take on evil spirits and host a demon…

As soon as they landed, she formed the golden flame around her before she went in close. Hand to hand combat was her forte. Her fire was her long distance ability. She had to be good. After all, she had been training for years. She felt a few wind blades attack her. He defended against them with his aura and hands.

 _Thick skin._

She noted it before her flames formed balls around her and attacked. She punched his arms and used divine flame in a burst. He was barely pushed back. She gave a roundhouse kick to his head that made his head wrench back before he caught her leg and threw her in the other direction. She almost fell but Kazuma caught her. She looked back at him before narrowing her eyes. He might need more of her effort. She hissed slightly when she took a step. She quickly tore the bottom of her pants and glared at the demon. His aura was affecting her. The purifying flame sprung up from her leg, burning away at the miasma. She could heal later, properly. She looked up just in time to see the ground burst. His evil aura was expanding and little tornados were forming around him. She felt her eye twitch with irritation. So annoying. But his miasma was the most troublesome thing.

"Can you do something about that miasma? Its affecting me too much." She almost growled out the last part. He formed a wind tunnel that kept out his evil aura and the tunnel led straight to him. She didn't need to purify his aura so she released divine flame as she ran. The flame surrounded her hand and she punched his face and concentrated the flame to burn his face. Suddenly her flame stopped and she had to jump back. Kazuma meanwhile made a huge tornado of his own. She thought he was going to dissipate the evil aura with it somehow but instead his tornado somehow _conducted lightening._ She was almost gaping at him then. The lightening struck the demon and she stumbled back. The light got really harsh. She felt slightly dizzy but she blinked it back. She held her hand in pain. She wasn't sure why but her hand was starting to hurt. As soon as the lightening dissipated, she noticed the wind forming a protective shield around her. It too dissipated and she ran towards the demon. Her divine flame would have to do. The flames burst into existence around her and she expended her hand and blasted a concentrated blast right to his face. He was pushed back and without the evil spirits, he wasn't as protected from it. His face was half burnt away and he growled in anger. She took a few steps away from it, to take a breather.

"Kyoko! Just hold him off as much as you can. Buy me some time." Kazuma seemed really confident that what he was planning to do would work. She would have said that she could handle it on her own, but she felt really dizzy and weak. She steeled her expression and attacked the demon. Kazuma asked her to buy him time. And time he would get.

She formed balls of divine flame all around her and kept up furiously attacking him. His aura was regenerating fast but the divine flame would keep it at bay and damage him. He was more vulnerable now. She dived into the attacking when he stumbled back. This was her chance. She extended divine flame from her hand as a blade and used it to cut him. His skin wasn't as tough to the divine flame, but more over, she was also vulnerable to his aura. It wouldn't end well for her if she lost consciousness. She dove her hand straight though his shoulder. He used his other hand to slap her back. His physical strength was much more than hers. She stumbled back and exhaled sharply. She used her aura to strengthen her divine flame and used it as an area affected attack. He was very much scorched and crispy but not yet dead. And worse, his aura was regenerating. _Again!_

She almost growled out at that. She started panting. Her body was starting to hurt now. She exhaled sharply. It didn't matter now. She didn't have enough time to pull out her big attacks and she just had to buy time. She didn't know how much more time he needed. She stood up properly. No matter what, she was a Kanagi. She wouldn't let a measly demon kill her so stupidly.

"Well done." A wind brought his voice to her and soon Kazuma himself appeared behind her. She almost fell back against his chest in relief. He was done. She wouldn't be giving out any big attacks anytime soon. She looked up and her eyes widened.

"Your eyes. What happened?" She knew what this meant. She had heard the rumour but she wasn't sure if it was true.

"The spirit king of the wind marked me as the contractor." Her eyes became wide. He didn't want to keep it hidden, then? But the wind. She then gave him a smile.

"I'm glad. You're strong now." His eyes widened. She wasn't shocked or scared. She was really glad for him but more than that, the words resonated inside him. Yes, he was strong now. Strong enough to defend people he loved. To defend Ren. That was when he became sure. She had known him before and they had been friends. She seemed so happy on his behalf. His eyes softened. He looked up.

"Now, time to go back to hell, where you belong." His eyes widened and he glared at the demon. She realized he still had his hand on her waist but she did nothing. She turned back to the creature. The demon needed to be purified. Her thoughts were distracted by the tornado around them. The wind became stronger. So strong that she was sure, if she put her hand in it, it would be tore away. It was very strong. The power depended on the will power of the contacted to control the spirits. He was very good. And very strong. Maybe as strong as her or stronger. She wasn't sure.

Mini-tornados extended from theirs to surround him. He formed one with his evil aura but two ore formed and they crushed him in between. For a moment she observed this before she realized what was happening. The wind was purifying him. That was when she realized how pure the wind felt to her. It seemed to soothe her pain.

"Its working." She turned her gaze to him when she felt his hand on hers. He lightly squeezed her hand.

"Kyoko. Purify him." She stepped away from him and her divine flame formed in one hand and the purifying flame in the other. She ran towards the demon as the flames formed into huge blades around her hand. She simultaneously put her hands though his head and his neck. The flames went inside him and he- well, to put it simply- burst. A beautiful purifying wind blew from below and the rest of him got purified and was sucked up into the sky. Her hair blew up and she looked up and relaxed. The wind was beautiful.

She turned around when she heard a 'thump'. Her alarmed eyes found Kazuma lying on the ground. She quickly went to him, worried.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Just a little tired." She smiled at him.

"You were ready before you came, weren't you?" He opened his eyes and looked a little sheepish. "If you just wanted to see what I could do, you could have just asked, you know? I wouldn't have minded." He looked a little doubtful. Her eyebrow twitched. "Did you just compare me to Ayano? I'd like to tell you I'm nothing like that. You're not an enemy, so its fine. When were you really ready?"

"Around the time when you injured him." She sat down beside him with a huff.

"Then you saw me being weak instead of strong." She winced and held her hand. Her eyes met Kazuma's before she passed out with a single thought.

 _Oh shit!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own the awesomeness of Kaze no Stigma. But I do own the lovely Kyoko…**

Kyoko was very uncertain. She had declined the invitation to the lunch to celebrate how awesomely they had completed their mission. Ayano went, but she didn't. She honestly didn't want to sit there and listen to them chatter about what a disgrace the Fuga Clan was. Fucking hypocrites, all of them. She instead just sat on the roof of one of their houses, reminiscing about what happened after the fight. She lightly touched her lips and blushed. She had been knocked out because his aura had affected her too much. One of her sleeves were ripped off and she had seen the darkened skin that was slowly healing at a very fast rate. She was surprised she hadn't been beyond help then. It had been a silly mistake on her part. She should have kept her body surrounded by flames at all times while she fought. No wonder Kazuma always kept his distance from the demon.

Kazuma had given her the elixir. Well, more like made her drink it through his mouth. She remembered what she did when she woke up. She couldn't believe herself, though. She had sighed softly before the pressed her lips closer to his before opening her eyes lazily. Her brain had been fuzzy with sleep or something (she refused to think what that something was). Then she had pulled back with hooded eyes and licked her lips. Though she mentally gave the excuse of licking the elixir that was dripping down her lips. That was when Ren had hesitantly called her name. She had blinked a few times before realizing her position. She had literally jumped away from Kazuma's arms before apologizing like hell. Her face had been tomato red and she had seen Kazuma's slightly shocked but very much amused face before she made an excuse about checking up on Ayano and ran the hell away.

It had been the most embarrassing thing she had ever done. She was 19, for God's sake! Its not like she hadn't slept with anyo… shit! Why was she thinking about sleeping with him? He was hot and all but he… wow. Just wow. Her mind was betraying her now. She sighed heavily before flopping back on the roof. She at least had something decent on now. While she was running to check up on Ayano, she had seen her clothes. There was a rip on the bottom of her top that exposed her bra and one on the top that had torn away the collar and exposed the side of her neck. Her pants were very damaged and slightly burned but most of it had survived in one piece. Her stomach had a few cuts and dirt stuck on it, but otherwise she was fine.

She had checked up on Ayano and woke her up. She had 'flash jumped' to the main house to drop Ayano and check up on their wounds. 'Flash jumping' meaning she used fire to super speed herself to her destination. She also called 'flash step', which basically meant she could transport herself from an area of extreme heat to another area of extreme heat. Basically, teleporting from one fire to another. But they were both stressful in its own way. First one, she had to be careful about being too fast and slamming into stuff. Thankfully, she had gotten over that. The second one had the problem that she needed to know her next destination. That she had helped by using her sensing skill to find area of high temperature easily.

After dropping Ayano, she had changed into clothes that were decent enough to make Jugo Kanagi sigh in relief. While everyone rested, she had taken it upon herself to fill him in on what she had done. She had hesitated in telling him about Kazuma being a contractor but apparently, Jugo had already guessed it. She was sure Kazuma would fill in any details she didn't know- if he wanted to- when he came to collect his money. She had wanted to ask him something. That elixir he had brought. It was for Ren, if he didn't reach in time. It would have cured Ren of his injuries. All Kazuma would have to do was make sure he was alive and his soul was intact.

She suddenly sat up when she felt Kazuma's presence in the compound. She hadn't known he had been invited to lunch too. She would have followed him, but she had a feeling Kazuma wouldn't take kindly to her following him around. When he went inside the main house, she waited a little following. She was kind of curious why he was here. She heard-

"BACK OFF, YOU PERVERT!" She would have been amused if she wasn't so surprised. Ayano really didn't like Kazuma sometimes. Or maybe she was jealous? "No way. I wont let you touch her. So you're gonna have to find someone else!" Then there was a more whispered but no less furious, "Whats wrong with you, Misao? Have a little self-respect. Don't ingrate yourself for worthless scumbag like him."

"Nice to hear you have such a high opinion of me, princess." Kazuma just sounded amused.

"Thank you, but you really don't have to be so protective of me, Ayano. I'm offering myself to Kazuma to thank him for putting an end to the Fuga clan's uprising. We wouldn't be alive if it weren't for him. And he took revenge for the death of my brother. I'm willing to do anything to repay him for that." Misao sounded nice and soft but there was an undertone to her voice. She was lying.

"He's already been paid with money, so believe me, he's just fine. A simple 'thank you' would be good enough." This time she was amused at Ayano. Ayano was so naïve. The thanking would generally be an excuse to get into the man's bed. But of course that was not the case here. Misao didn't like Kazuma.

"You shouldn't thank me. Doesn't really make much sense. I mean, what do you have to be grateful for? After all, I'm responsible for your brother's death." Kazuma was still amused but this time there was an underlining guilt too. Not guilt exactly, more like blaming himself. He said it like a fact, and it was. He was to blame for Misao's brother's death because he had weakened Takeya, and she knew he didn't regret it. He just carried the blame of taking a life when he would have done nothing to change it. It was a very slight difference in his voice that generally no one would detect but it was there. After all, she heard it in her voice too. There was a small gasp from Misao.

"What did you just say?" Ayano now sounded slightly confused and angry.

"Ryuya killed him but I definitely made it easier to do. If I hadn't knocked Taki unconscious. Ryuya might not have been able to pick him off so quickly. Of course, even when he was conscious, he was no match for Ryuya." He stood up. "Anyway, I understand if you want to blame me, so you can-"

She slammed the door open and ruined the grim atmosphere. "So sorry to interrupt but I heard Misao was doing favours for the people who helped save the Kanagi clan!" She cheerfully smiled and sent a small glare at Kazuma. Trying to provoke a girl who had no chance against him. He was shameless. She paused awkwardly at the door and looked at the angry Misao.

"Wait. Did I hear it wrong then?" She went to Misao and sneaked a hand in her kimono and took her blade away. Misao would get in trouble if she attacked him in front of everyone. "Misao, do a favour for me, please? I need to get my clothes fixed! You'll help, right?" Misao looked at her with a shocked expression before slightly nodding her head. "Phew! I'm saved because I know abosolutely nothing about stuff like this." Then she half turned towards Kazuma. "Hey, Kazuma."

He looked at her, a little amused before she unsheathed the blade and threw it directly at Kazuma's heart. Wind formed right over his jacket and the blade landed on the ground with a clatter in the silence. She uncaringly turned back to Misao.

"That's what would have happened if you tried to attack him. No matter how much force. He _controls_ the wind. The air that we breathe, the air that surrounds you. He could just freeze every object in its place with good control. Do you think you have any chance of actually taking revenge on him?" She had spoken it softly so that people who were more than a meter far could not hear it.

"Father!" Ayano almost squeaked out.

"Kyoko. What would be your reason for attacking an ally of ours?" She lifted an eyebrow at that. They took stuff way too seriously.

"I was proving a point. I knew the blade wouldn't hurt him. I mean, he defeated Genma for God's sake. Do you actually think a tiny knife could do what he couldn't? You're still underestimating him." She walked towards the open doorway before flicking Ayano forehead with her middle finger. "He's fine. No worries. No need for punishment. Ciao. Misao, come with me. You shouldn't be trying to get in trouble, specially now." She dragged a dazed Misao outside with her. Kazuma shrugged and was about to leave when Kyoko came back. She looked at everyone before focusing on Kazuma.

"Eh. Thanks for saving my life, Kazuma. I owe you." She gave a small awkward bow. She really wasn't used to bowing to anyone.

"You're not going to offer yourself to him, are you?" Ayano awkwardly asked. Kyoko looked at Ayano strangely.

"Why would I do that?" She then looked towards the direction she had come from, before nodded her head in understanding. "Ah. That's what she did. Nah. Not gonna do that." She waved her concern away. She wouldn't sleep with him under some kind of obligation. That would just ruin the mood. For her, at least. She looked expectantly at Kazuma.

"No need to thank me. I added the amount for the elixir in the bill." She almost smirked. How obvious.

"Well then, I'll have to do something about that, don't I?" She moved a little away from Kazuma and faced Jugo respectfully. "I would request that the amount of the elixir be taken from my account." This time, Jugo almost looked amused while everyone started at us.

"Are you sure, Kyoko? Its an expensive medicine." She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Old man. I'm more than rich enough to pay for it. Plus, if my life is worth that much, I'd gladly give the money many times over. Shouldn't you know that by now?"

"Of course, Kyoko." She sent Jugo a small smile before turning to face Kazuma.

"I will not do any sexual favours. Anything else is a go. Okay?" She turned and walked away. She needed to talk to Misao.

She heard Kazuma scoff before he too left. She distracted her mind from Kazuma to Misao. Misao really hated Kazuma and him saying all that stuff about Takeya being weak and blaming himself for his death, probably didn't help. Oh well. No point worrying over spilt milk. The question would be if she should help Misao or let her follow her path.

Ayano couldn't help but envy Kyoko a little. Kyoko was like an elder sister to her, even though she was only a year older. Kyoko had always been strong but she rarely had time to help Ayano with anything. Ayano had looked down on the friendship between Kyoko and Kazuma. Kyoko, at the young age of fifteen, was quiet possibly one of the strongest members of their family and Jugo had adopted her for that reason, meanwhile Kazuma was the member who couldn't use fire-an embarrassment specially because he was in a family of fire-users. It wasn't proper for them to be friends, because Kazuma was weak. When Kazuma left, Kyoko had changed. She went against the wishes of the clan and went against any punishment given to her. Then one day, Kyoko and her father sat together and talked for a long time, and a few days later, she left too. Kyoko went to different branches of their family all over the world. She did a few jobs but other than that, she had no idea about Kyoko's whereabouts. Kyoko would drop by sometimes and help Ayano control her flames. She had also taught Ayano how to wield Enriha. Kyoko was respected and sometimes despised by the clan. After all, she was an outsider. She wasn't born into the clan. She was adopted, and only because of her ability to wield fire so skillfully.

Ayano didn't like it. She didn't want anyone to be despised that much just because they were not born into the family. It was wrong. They couldn't look down on the normal people just because they could wield any element. And they shouldn't look down on the Fuga clan because they could wield wind and once been defeated by their clan. And then she thought, _was Kazuma's case really that different then?_

* * *

 **A/N: So sorry! I got mixed up...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Can I please own Kaze no Stigma? Pretty please?**

* * *

Kyoko wasn't sure why, but she found herself scrolling down her contact list. She had been back to Japan a few times in the last few years and had made a few friends during her schooling abroad. She was considering calling someone to Japan. Most of them certainly could spare the time and money. She _had_ done a few jobs for them too. But back in Japan, she found herself bored without anyone to talk to. America had been a more interesting place. She flicked over a few contacts before settling on one. She smirked. There was someone who would make her stay here _very_ interesting. She clicked the 'call' button and put in near her ear. As soon as she picked up the call, she heard an excited shriek on the other side.

"I was wondering if you would like to pay me a visit."

* * *

Kazuma sighed. While fighting that demon had been quite fun, he hadn't expected to meet someone like Kyoko. She was _very_ interesting. And for some reason she was sensitive to auras around her. The rate at which the evil aura had taken to her body was ridiculous. If he didn't have the elixir, she would definitely have died. Unless she had something else in her sleeves. The proficiency with which she wielded the divine and the golden flame was something. He had never heard of people doing that simultaneously. She was some kind of prodigy then. That would explain why most of the Kanagi clan didn't want to go against her. She was their trump card- their secret weapon.

He was slightly amused about Kyoko and Ren following them so obviously. They clearly needed to work on their tracking skills. Maybe he should ask Jugo to pay him for training them?

* * *

Kyoko pouted. There was nothing she could do. Maybe she should take a job? But what kind of job? Maybe she could ask if she could take over one of the business branches in America? That was where she had spent more of her time, after all. Or she could go to collage? She pondered on these things as she walked through the busy streets. She saw a chocolate shop a few shops away and she immediately went in and bought a bag full of them. She loved chocolates, specially the dark chocolate. They were so good.

She wandered through the streets when suddenly she felt a flash of anger and concern. She stopped, walked back a few steps and went inside an alley. She almost snorted at the hotels before she felt Kazuma's aura flaring nearby. He was using his wind. She focused a little as she walked. Sharp burst wind, to be precise. He was protecting himself from something. She narrowed her eyes and turned a corner. Gun shots rang out. Ren and Ayano were close too but they weren't doing anything. She walked slowly towards them before she felt a familiar aura. Misao was here too. That explained everything.

Misao brought Kazuma here to a trap laid out by her and Ayano probably followed. She probably ringed Ren into it somehow. She heard grenade go off just after the gunshots stopped. Bullets were annoying but grenade did less damage than that.

"You wanna tell me what's going on here?" Ayano's voice rang out in the remaining silence.

"Ayano! Ren!" There was a brief pause. There she was. Misao."I'd hoped to avoid any witnesses but maybe its good that you're here. It seems appropriate that a member of the family should be here to gather his remains." She appeared behind Ayano and leaned on the wall on the entrance.

"His what?" Ren's voice seemed surprised.

"You seriously thought that attack killed him? Didn't I tell you that you can't hurt him?" Kyoko scoffed. Ren and Ayano turned in surprise. "Yo." She gave them a wave with one hand and popped a chocolate piece in her mouth. Misao turned back to the destroyed wall in surprise.

"Oh no. That's impossible." A tornado of wind appeared out of nowhere and the men with guns went flying. Kazuma appeared in the middle of the tornado as the men dropped like mosquitoes in front of him.

"Yeah. Its much nicer here now." Kyoko snorted at that.

"Show off," she mumbled as she took another bite of a chocolate. She glanced at Ren to see him looking at her while Ayano stared at Kazuma. Oh yeah. She was too knocked out to see him fight that demon. "Want one?" Misao took out her phone and was about to call someone.

"Hey. Don't even bother. I already had a talk with your rooftop sniper." Kyoko slightly nodded. That would have almost succeeded if Kazuma had not been expected the attack and if it was anyone other than Kazuma. He controls the _wind._ What else do you need to know?

"But how could you-"

"Don't feel too bad. It was a good idea, in theory. I was almost surprised. And weapons are more effective that your magic. Only, thing is, you'll need more guns." There was a slight pause. Her head shot up at the change in Kazuma's aura. He seemed… sad? She stood up straight and put the packet of chocolate in her jacket's pocket. "You've changed, huh. Did I make you this way?"

"Are you serious? You haven't seen me in ten years. You think you know me well enough to even ask that?" He was sad. She looked away, feeling guilty. She had thought he was purposefully mocking her like that. She had thought that because of how much he had seemed to change. She bowed her head. She had thought bad about Kazuma. She had thought him capable of mocking a death person's loved one. Did _she_ change that much? That she couldn't even recognize Kazuma. She closed her eyes. Yes, she had changed but she hadn't really realized how much. Her hand clenched into a fist. She really was so stupid.

"Okay. Good… point."

"Alright, you two. That's enough with the chatter. Misao, you're coming home with me. You're gonna explain everything you've done to my father." Misao angrily threw her purse at Ayano and ran away. Her hear ached slightly. Misao wasn't throwing a temper tantrum that she could be amused by. She was suffering. Ryuya was dead so she could only take her anger out at Kazuma. She could have blamed Ayano because she was too weak but she couldn't. in her heart, Kazuma was the outsider.

"Hey! Get back here."

"Wait!" Ayano and Ren ran after her and left her alone with Kazuma, in the solemn silence. Kazuma walked over to the purse and picked it up.

"She's right. Ten… years." Kyoko released her clenched fist before turning to Kazuma with a sad smile. She really claimed to be his friend? Preposterous.

"Its not as long you think. Sometimes, time goes by really fast." Kazuma looked at her with slight surprise. Maybe he had forgotten her presence. She really should tell him what Misao had thought. "You know, during lunch, she thought you were intentionally mocking Takeya. She thought you were talking down someone she loved, who was dead." She looked up at him. "In fact, so did I." She cried then. She was disgusted at herself. "I-. Sorry." She calmed down. She didn't have to make it about her. "I'll take care here. You go ahead and return the purse." She turned and flashed away to the rooftop. The sniper lay unconscious on the ground. She would have killed him, if she had been in Kazuma's position. She would have done it in a bloody way and made sure Misao saw it. She would have cruelly broken her will and left her there. She was so heartless. So cruel. Was that how she thought Kazuma had become too? She silently looked at the unconscious man. That man was a proof that she was wrong. She silently hung her head and waited for the rain.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I…don't…own…Kaze not Stigma. *huff* That enough?**

* * *

Kyoko was put on a case investigation for Ayano and Kazuma. Missing people and skeleton-like remains found. She was checking out the possible victims from the missing person's report while Ayano was being told about the case by her father. Ayano had no patience for things like this. She didn't really like reading that much, while Kyoko loved to read. Sometimes, Kyoko would think they were actual siblings with the way they behaved. It was slightly strange, in a way too. Back to the missing person's report. She had found over hundred possible victims and she had just been checking since that morning. She was still worried about Misao, though.

She shrugged it away. She needed to focus on the case. She had done a case similar to this once but that had been solved by burning a tree that seemed to eat any person who came near a forest. The tree had _long_ roots, and boy, had she been in danger. It had been a pretty stupid case otherwise. She had burnt down half the forest trying to find the tree, though. She had been _very_ pissed. She sighed. It was too bad she was bad at tracking, even though she could sense aura's and sometimes intense emotions. Ayano was like a non-stop radar, all the time. She was so volatile. She lightly scratched her cheek as she waited in the lobby for Ayano. The receptionist guy kept flirting with her and she was tempted to just burn him to a crisp. What was taking Ayano so _long?!_

Ah. There she was. She spotted two of Ayano's friends with her as well. Ayano spotted her a few seconds later. She glanced at the receptionist and gave her a 'you deal with him' face. Ayano slammed her hand at the desk.

"Give me Kazuma Yagami's room number."

"Uh. Yes ma'am. Mr. Yagami is staying in the penthouse." Ayano stomped towards the elevator she had silently called during the exchange. "Thank you!" Kyoko smirked before leaning back on the elevator wall as Ayano and her two friends entered.

"Took you long enough, Ayano. Did you stop for a bite or something?" She teased her cake-addiction. Ayano had always liked sweet things. Ayano pulled at her jacket like a gangster.

"Just because you don't have to go to school, doesn't mean I don't have to either!"

"Excuses, excuses." She waved it away before opening an eye. Ayano just growled in response. She was so easy to rile up. It was fun.

"Who are you?" A friend of Ayano spoke up while the other elbowed her. She smiled at them. Ayano must be really close friends with them.

"I'm Kyoko, Ayano's adopted sister." She rested her arm on Ayano's shoulder but she just ducked and moved away, mumbling something about 'useless sister' and 'runaway'. She felt a little annoyed but mostly amused. She wasn't a 'run away'. She just didn't like traditions. Its not like she really was a part of their family by blood. She didn't want to follow their traditions, so she just…went away. "I'm not a run away. I just moved away to America for a while." That's what she usually said but she obviously couldn't mention the cases she solved all over the world. Specially the last one. Russia was ruthless, with its weather and its people. She had been greatly weakened by the last. She was lucky she hadn't died. It was dangerous for her to do difficult missions in the snowy cold. She had almost changed the climate of the area she had fought. Everything was burnt to a crisp. She should have been more careful, but as long as she got the job done, it was fine.

She was distracted from her thoughts by two disappointed sighs. She blinked at the two, confused. She looked at Ayano who sighed in exasperation.

"They thought I liked Kazuma. They don't seem to understand that we had to tell him about a job." Kyoko cocked her head. She wasn't sure if Ayano liked Kazuma or not, herself. She was pretty sure Ayano didn't. Ayano hadn't even witnessed his true strength. She probably should tell her.

"You know he's a contractor, right?" Ayano's eyes widened. Her friends probably didn't know what that meant, judging from her clueless face.

"You mean, he received the spirit king's blessing?" she squeaked out.

"Yup." She looked at her friends, who seemed to understand a little at that. "It just means that his power is limited only by his will power. And that's a lot of power." She felt a little bad for Kazuma now. Ayano was going to hero worship him in her silent tsundere way. Whatever. Kazuma could handle himself.

The elevator arrived at his floor and they got off. Her friends waved us bye and the door closed. She turned around and knocked at the door. At least they knew Kazuma was here. She could feel Kazuma's aura inside, calm and comforting in its own way. He opened the door.

"Oh. Its you." The annoyance that had left while she was teasing Ayano returned at the bland tone. "What's up?"

"Job. Ayano, explain it in easy words so he can understand." She heard Ayano sigh. She walked past him and looked around. Her eyes fell on the bar on the side of the room. Ayano sighed and sat on a seat.

"All of the victims are young, ranging from their late teens to early twenties. They discovered around two dozen victims in just the last week but going by the missing person's report. It might be closer to a hundred." While Ayano talked, she proceeded to take out a bottle of whiskey and pour a little in a glass. She probably should have gotten rid of this bad habit, but she really needed a drink. She was really concerned about Misao, and Ayano needed to start extensive training. Each was stressful in its own way.

"Right." He dragged out the word. "So let me guess. Jugo wants me to investigate this."

"Bingo!" She spoke up from her place. "I just investigated this shit, and its your turn to do some work." She turned to Ayano. "I'm going to continue your training. I suppose its too hopeful of me thinking that you continued working on what I told you to?" And just like that, the serious mood was broken. Ayano rubbed her head embarrassed, while Kazuma looked interested.

"You train her?" Kazuma actually sounded surprised.

"Uh… Yeah?" It sounded almost like a question. "I used to. You know, whenever I came back to Japan."

"You must have been a horrible teacher." Kazuma's teasing made the sisters very annoyed. Kyoko flicked her hair back and gave him a superior look, ignoring Ayano's protest.

"I rarely came home. Considering that, I have been absolutely remarkable. Ayano is a horrible student."

"I am _not!_ You're very distracted all the time! You just tell me to repeatedly do something while you disappear somewhere!" Kyoko stubbornly continued ignored Ayano's protests in a way only a sister could and continued on talking over her.

"Anyway, so all you have to do is find a energy-sucking…thing. The rest should be easy. Adios people. I got a different mission now."

"You're gonna have to tell me all about this one, you know." Kyoko stopped halfway to the door.

"Yeah. When you're strong enough, I'll tell you all about them." There was a strange tone to her voice. Kazuma was curious about that but something told him, the answer wouldn't be pleasant. "Buh-bye!"

She closed the door and leaned against it. There was a brief pause of silence.

"Alright. I'll do it."

"Huh?"

"Tell Jugo I'll take the job. But there's no reason for you to help."

"What?"

I'd use you if it was a more powerful yoma but-"

She stopped listening. Rising Ayano up to get the yoma to expose itself was pretty ingenious but she had a very bad feeling about this. She didn't want to be the one trailing them.

She stepped into the shadows and hid from sight. Ayano would storm out soon.

"-And don't worry. I wont help you even if you're dying and screaming in pain!"

-and Ayano stormed into the elevator. She smirked and teleported to the roof.

"Oh man. She's radiating that much anger and she's not even in a fight."

She cocked her head and looked down at the scene. A guy with a broken nose was very awkwardly lying on the ground behind Ayano's friends while Ayano impatiently waited for them.

"But…she's perfect bait."

"She really is, isn't she? I wanted to suggest something like this to Jugo but he was adamant in you being the one to track him. But, oh well, I'm not that good in tracking either. If the yoma was too far away, I wouldn't be able to track him." Kazuma spared her a glance.

"What's your range?"

"-a couple miles." Kyoko felt a little ashamed admitting that. She was good at everything but that. Kazuma lightly scoffed and she scowled at him. "I'm just not that good, okay!" She lightly shoved him. She glanced at Ayano before her face became more serious.

"Its here."

Kazuma wrapped his arm around her waist before a small tornado surrounded them and brought them down. He stood still in front of an alley that would seem empty to a normal person and closed his eyes. She could tell he was concentrating for this. It was probably pretty hard for him to find the rip in the world but he knew what to look for, so it was fine. She could have just teleported them near Ayano's flame but she _really_ wanted to see just how strong he was.

"There." Wind tore through the rip and he brought them inside it. For a second, she just stood there looking at Ayano, fight.

Ayano was _weak._

She felt her eyes widen at the thought. She hadn't ever thought of anyone being inferior to her like that. How disgusting.

"Kazuma! Kyoko-nee!"

"Stop looking at us and keep fighting."

"Then quit distracting me." Ayano went back to face the slimy thing.

"I'll cover the surroundings, you go straight up and attack the centre." Ayano went to attack the thing and Kyoko left. She flashed away from the dimension to the park. She could sense the connection. However weak. She appeared in front of Misao.

"So you found me."

"I'll always find you. I consider you a friend. I will never betray my friends. Or at least, never willingly."

"It doesn't matter what you say, I will never come back. I have to take my revenge on Kazuma." Kyoko looked at Misao sadly.

"I'll help you get power. I'll tell you his weaknesses. I'll make sue you get to battle him however times you need to, to get used to him power. I'll make sure you survive." Her eyes filled with tears and her chest hurt. She slowly walked towards Misao. She had to convince her. It was Misao. She couldn't hurt her. "Just, please. Stop this. I'll stay with you throughout. I'll protect you from the whole Kanagi family. Please, don't choose this path!" Kyoko stood in front of her and begged Misao with her eyes. Misao looked surprised at her breakdown.

"I'm sorry Kyoko. But Kazuma has to pay for what he has done to my brother. This path gives me power to do that. I will be able to destroy Kazuma and avenge my brother."

"Is this how far you will go to kill me?" Kazuma's voice surprised her and she instinctively slid in front of Misao. Misao was the one she had to protect. But Kazuma wasn't the enemy.

"Of course. Whatever it takes. To be honest, I expected Kazuma to be the one to find me not Kyoko. After all, wind magic users have great tracking abilities." Misao stood up slowly, and spoke softly. It sounded like the voice of an innocent girl but Misao was far from innocent, wasn't she? She shifted away from Misao so Kazuma and she could see her properly.

"You're aura's toxic. Do you know how many innocent people have suffered so you can take your revenge?"

"Oh yes. But its worth it. I swore that I would make you pay no matter the consequences were and there's nothing you can do to change my mind."

"Do you really think you can defeat me? "

"I know I will. I don't care how much power you have. You're still just a human. It doesn't matter how strong you are, you only have the strength of one man, but I'll absorb the energy of thousands of people until I defeat you."

"Assuming you'll be able to control that power."

"Don't worry, I'll manage. I only need it long enough to kill you. After that, it doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters! Its your life-"

"Are you done or are you going to talk all day?" She wasn't really an emotional person but she had more sense and tact than that. Ayano panted heavily.

"Ayano."

"Not now." Kazuma groaned out. She let out a huff.

"Even I can see how sick your aura has become, and I know what you've done to make it that way." Ayano approached her and that was when she realized she had assumed a battle stance to protect Misao. Ayano was too naïve.

"Mind your own business. This doesn't concern you."

"Stay out of it. This is just between us." She almost rolled her eyes. That line would never work on Ayano, and she had already made Misao her business. Of course, Ayano was a totally different matter entirely.

"Misao, if you want to try and kill Kazuma, then you're right. It isn't my place to stop you. On the other hand, I can't just look the other direction and let you get away with hurting all those innocent people."

"So what then?"

"Enriha, come forth!" She shifted in front of Misao more fully. Flames wouldn't affect her. She was a flame magic user too, after all.

"Leave this to me." Kazuma sounded almost angry.

"No! I'm a member of the Kanagi family."

"I said, forget it." Kazuma approached Ayano and held her hand with Enriha down. Ayano struggled and formed flames all over her body. Kazuma flinched away from it immediately.

"Enough! Stop being so immature and think for once in your life. You think you can take on Kazuma or me? Specially both of us together?" She lifted a hand in front of her face and blue flames formed. She barely took note of the surprised faces, as the spirits of fire lowly gathered in her hand.

 _God's flame_ surrounded her whole hand _._

"I will _raze_ the Kanagi Family to the ground, if you touch her. This I swear to you." Ayano looked very uncertain. Kyoko's face became hard and serious. This wasn't a half-hearted 'mission', this was protecting her friend. She would go to any lengths to do that. "You will not touch Misao."

"I hate to interrupt but I should get going. You obviously need to solve it out between yourselves." Kyoko turned around when she felt Misao's hand touch her shoulder. "Thank you for your assistance but I'm afraid I will have to receive retribution, both in death and life. I just wish to kill Kazuma before it happens."

"Misao, you can still live a happy life. It doesn't matter what people say. I will protect you from everything." Kyoko put out the God's fire and pulled Misao to herself. She protectively put her arms around her. "In life and death."

"Get away from her, Kyoko! She's killed hundreds of innocents." Kyoko turned her head a little and sneered.

"And what do you think I've been doing on missions, stupid girl? Stop being so naïve. The world isn't black and white. Misao has suffered more than you can imagine." Ayano stood shock-still. Misao extracted herself from Kyoko's arms and stepped back.

"I apologize, but I have to leave." Misao brought her aura closer to her.

"I won't let you!" Ayano charged in and only cut through air, while her aura disappeared with her.

"Nicely done." Kazuma went back to his joking nature while Kyoko tried to contain her bloodlust. Ayano was a pest. Kyoko took a deep breath. She was too used to her mission-like thoughts.

"What's wrong with you? You let her go."

"Well that's not exactly how it happened. I was trying to talk to her first."

"Look, I'm not an idiot. If you actually wanted to stop her, she wouldn't have gotten away so easily. Our family has a duty to make sure Misao pays for what she's done, and if you try to interfere-"

"Just who the hell do you think you're talking to little girl?" Ayano seemed uncertain again. Good. Because Kazuma was the only one stopping her from attacking Ayano. Why didn't she stop to think? When she was young, it was an endearing trait. But now, it was annoying. "If you really want to stop me, then try using your power not your mouth." Kazuma brought his hand closer to Enriha's fire, wind swirling in front of his hand. "Anytime you think you can handle it. You've got an open invitation." The wind put out the fire and left Ayano speechless. It just infuriated Kyoko more. Kazuma walked away from Ayano.

Kyoko walked to Ayano, and back handed her. "Stop being so self-righteous when you don't even understand the whole story." Ayano stumbled back and looked at her with a shocked expression. Kyoko looked at Kazuma who looked at her with a strange expression. Kyoko stepped away from Ayano before flashing away. She really needed to get away. Away from Ayano. Misao. She flashed from place to place before ending up where she wanted.

 _Forest._

 _Burn it all down!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kaze no Stigma.**

Kyoko stood by. She had seen the preparation to defeat Misao. They were so stupid sometimes. The wind danced through the trees near the edge. She stood in its shadows. She just had to make sure that no one died, and Misao was about to use her fire to kill her family. Even though she didn't really like them all that much. She extended her hand and put up a weak barrier. She didn't really want them conscious either. A pillar of flame shot to the sky. If not for her, they would have died. Oh, well. She stepped away from the shadows and walked in front of Misao.

"Hello again, Misao."

"I was waiting for you to show yourself. I didn't want you to spend the whole time hiding."

"Misao. Your brother's d-"

"What happened here?" For a second, she looked around. All of Misao's family was lying on the ground. Some had a pool of blood around them. They weren't dead, at least. Just dying.

"This is just awful." Kyoko turned back at Ren's voice.

"You let Ren come here?"

"Kyoko-nee! What are you doing here?" Ren's greeting was cheerful as always.

"Kyoko. I thought you weren't going to come?" Ayano was more hesitant. Understandable. After all, she had told Ayano that she wasn't that different from Misao.

"Ah. I changed my mind. After all, someone had to be here to prevent pointless deaths." Kyoko waved Ayano's concern off. She tried not to think what Ayano's concerns were. Was Ayano going to think she was increasing her powers by killing people? It was a possibility. Who knows? They needed to have a long talk anyway.

"You made a serious mess, and you seem pretty comfortable considering you just wiped out all your remaining relatives." Kazuma, as usual, made his entrance by dropping from the sky.

"It was easy considering I don't consider them my family. However, Kyoko made sure they survived. " Kyoko mockingly waved her hand at Kazuma.

"Yeah. About that. Could you make sure they get to the police? They should survive the night if they don't bleed out now. Not that anyone cares." Ren looked a little scandalized. "I mean, other than Ren." Now, Ayano looked a little pissed. She sighed. "…and Ayano." She shot Kazuma a sheepish smile. "Man! We're such an overkill." She lightly murmured to herself. She would have left, but her gut told her not to. There was something she didn't know.

Kazuma used the wind to pick them up and put them outside the area. Kazuma rolled his eyes at Kyoko.

"You just hurt your family. It doesn't matter how much you might not like them! They were the people who brought you up, gave you food to eat and loved you since the day you were born." Ayano was very passionate about her family. It made sense she would be absolutely against anyone hurting their own family. Misao's expression barely changed but anguish seemed to poured out of her in waves.

"The only one to ever love me was-"

"Takeya, right?" She felt almost surprised.

"Yes. The brother that you killed in cold blood. And I finally have enough power to take vengeance. Its time for you to pay for my brother's death."

"Fine." Kazuma was confident about his power. She cocked her head. Misao had collected many people's energy, so why-

Oh. Oh. She looked at Misao with realization. Misao couldn't control the energy inside her. It was there, coiled up but Misao couldn't force all that power out. She almost pitied Misao. All that power accumulated through sin, still not enough control to release it. But she backed away. Her work was done. There was no more need of her. Kazuma would make sure she survived.

Misao parted her hands and a dark flame formed between her hands. She threw that at Kazuma. Flames dissipated to reveal a wind tunnel formed around Kazuma, blocking the flame.

"All right. How about this?" Misao formed more fire balls around her and threw them at Kazuma. They all had no effect. Misao took a few steps back in denial. Kyoko looked at Misao, and _saw_ her. Saw the scared girl with no apparent connection to life. Saw the way her brother's lack of support had thrown her off. And she couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

"There's no way he could have survived that."

"I'm sorry to say, that though you have become stronger than you were, you're actually not even strong enough to defeat Ren." Kyoko's voice made Misao glance at her with her despair in her eyes.

"Yeah. If it were that easy to kill him, I would have done it myself." Ayano cut in.

"That's enough! You don't know what you're talking about. I can defeat him. My guardian angel promised me that I have enough power."

"Your guardian angel? What delusional pervert told you that?" Kyoko stifled a laugh. Ayano was so funny.

"Such a rude little girl." A blonde green-eyed guy came out of the church. She snorted but Misao immediately fell to her knees.

"An angel? Seriously?" The disbelief in Ayano's voice was more funny.

"Help me, my angel. Please offer me your wisdom and guidance. I must not be using my power properly. Oh. Please, show me how to take my revenge."

"Misao, that will never happen." Misao gave a gasp and Kyoko cocked her eyebrow. "There's no way someone like you could ever defeat Kazuma Yagami. Its simply impossible."

"But- you! I don't understand! You said that I had absorbed enough energy. You said I was ready."

"So I did." He bent down and rubbed her hair, lovingly. _Mockingly._ " The truth is, your ability to control and harness energy is determined at birth. Its sweet that you put your faith in me but you'll never be able to use all the power that you collected." He stopped rubbing her head. Kyoko felt a slow rage build inside her. "You must have known, you come from a family of magic users. You've just ignored reality, haven't you? "

"This can't be!" Misao looked so haunted. Kyoko almost wanted to step in but she felt frozen. An odd thought for a fire magic user. "You promised, I could!"

"I simply told you what you wanted to hear, Misao. Never underestimate the human capacity for self-delusion. Once they've got their mind set on something, they'll believe anything that they want to believe, and as long as you agree with them, you can convince them of just about anything. Like, for example," He cupped her face with both his hands. "There's nothing wrong with what you're doing. Its not a sin, if your wish is pure. The desire for vengeance is righteous in God's eyes." Misao's eyes widened before they filled with despair. "You can do anything you want, because your wish is the only thing that matters." His face was cruel and looked mercilessly at Misao's face with amusement. Her hand fisted. It was wrong and frankly, disgusting. "Slaughter hundreds of innocent people. Their lives are insignificant compared to your revenge. Why, you can even murder your entire family if they get in your way. God himself says it so." Misao pushed his hands away.

"Please, no! That can't be. Its not true!" Misao closed her eyes and looked away.

"But you believed it, didn't you? You took the life of hundreds and you did it for nothing." Misao's entire body language screamed- agnoy and she screamed. Loud and clear, before falling unconscious. Ayano and Ren ran towards her and Kyoko stood still. She was surprised at her own pain. It was surprising that she cared for Misao, no matter how mocking she made herself out to be. The pair encountered a barrier of his aura and were thrown away.

"His aura is really vicious."

"That's all the energy Misao's gathered. It's the collective energy of her victims that she can't control while unconscious. Now its coming out of her like someone's squeezing liquid out from a sponge. And this guy standing right there, will soak it up and harness it for himself." Kazuma's voice was quiet up until then. "So you suckered her up to doing your dirty work."

"That was the plan. I needed a medium strong enough to harness the energy for me. Like a Kanagi. Its as truly a fortunate coincidence that Misao and I, both wanted the power to defeat you-Kazuma." Ayano and Ren stood up.

"Is that so? Wanna tell me why?"

"Forgive me. I still haven't introduced myself. My name is Micheal. Micheal Harley." He gave a bow. "I have been selected to defeat you. And nothing will stop me. Tonight you will die, in the name of stars and wisdom."

"Wait, what? In the name of stars and wisdom?" Kazuma looked genuinely confused but she didn't. She just felt hot boiling rage. That was who sent him, was it?

"That's right. You may well have over-heard my master say it before since you were actually related to him. I'm quite certain it sounds familiar to you. Think hard, Kazuma. You cannot bury your feeling forever." She barely heard Kazuma gasp in realization. All she could hear was a faint buzzing sound.

"You fucking bastard. Where the fuck is your master? I will tear him apart. I will burn every part of him until nothing remains." Kyoko felt the heat travel though her skin. Flames burst into existence all over her. She had no control over them. Her anger was all she felt. "I will destroy that disgusting piece of trash!" Her hand extended in front of her without her will. "Where is he?"

The boy looked surprised to see her. He didn't know her. Good. Then his master wouldn't know how near his death was. A dragon of black flames suddenly coiled around him. Burning his skin. Tightening slowly. She wanted him to suffer slowing. His skin melted off wherever the dragon touched. He screamed.

"Where is your master? Tell me, and I'll make the pain stop." The dragon's head rested on his shoulder, near his neck, scalding the flesh there. She didn't care about the sudden weakness in her body or the way Ayano was looking at the dragon.

"I don't know! No one knows! He travels a lot!" He spoke betweens gasps and screams of pain and before she could kill him, a sudden pain in her heart made her black out momentarily. She blinked away her vision to see Ren, looking very worried and behind him, Kazuma stood protectively. She sat up and saw the mad glint in the charred guy's eyes as he was absorbed by a huge white dragon.

"What…happened?" Ren looked a little uncertain at that. She almost smiled at him. "I mean, about that dragon?" She looked pointed at the white dragon and ignore the wince Ren gave. He probably remembered the fire dragon she had made.

"That guy made a dragon out of Misao and the slimy thing. Then he got absorbed too."

"So Misao inside that dragon?" She stood up and dusted off her pants. "That girl is so troublesome." She sighed and looked at the angry dragon. It destroyed the church with a sweep of its tail.

"Kyoko-nee. What was the black flame? I've never seen anything like that." Kyoko's eyes darkened and she fisted her hand. "Its nothing."

"But will it burn the dragon without hurting Misao?" The seriousness in Kazuma's voice didn't fail to surprise her.

"No. It'll burn everything in its path." She replied quietly. The dragon spewed miasmatic fire at them and they jumped away.

"What about the Kanagi's purifying fire? You should be able to burn it without harming her." Kyoko felt uncertain.

"I've never tried to summon it in such a huge scale. It takes years to master that kind of magic."

"Only Genma and my father can do that." Ayano butt in. Kyoko looked at the dragon before smirking. She loved breaking records after all. She jumped to avoid the fire and charged in. The purifying fire formed around her and she jumped on the dragon's head and slammed her hand down. The flames burnt brighter and she unconsciously mixed in divine flame with it. She kept purifying it but suddenly the dragon jerked, almost throwing her off. Kazuma appeared behind her and held her, bridal style. She almost made a joke about it but decided against it. Her bad mood returned. Kazuma put her on the ground.

"So we need something stronger." She narrowed her eyes. Stronger? That she could do.

"Step away, Kazuma." She summoned the spirits of fire and started preparing the _Azure flame_ also known as the _God's fire_. Her eyes focused on the dragon that was regrowing its head. Ayano and Ren kept shooting fire from a distance but it did nothing because the dragon kept regenerating. Ayano angrily charged in and Kazuma went to save her before she could become a spatter on the ground. She was so distracted by that thought that she almost didn't notice the dragon aiming its tail at her. Her eyes widened and she abandoned her attempt at collecting the spirits and jumped away. But she was too late, almost. Kazuma caught her again and brought her farther away. Her nose twitched.

"I smell- Blood!" Her eyes widened at Kazuma's wound. Her hand became red with blood as she looked at Kazuma. He didn't look pale. Just a little tired. It wasn't a critical wound. She almost sighed in relief.

"Its fine. Don't look so worried. I'm not going to die." Kazuma smirked.

"Yeah. I know. I'm sorry." She gave the bloody wound a little glance. "You didn't have to save me, you know? I would have been fine." _Probably._

"No you wouldn't have. I acquired this power to protect everyone, so that's what I will do. I'll protect all three of you and Misao." Kazuma put his hand on her head and lightly patted it. She felt her face redden and her eyes widened. She abruptly stood up and faced away from him, trying to calm her heartbeat.

"Man! I'm surrounded by idealistic people. I guess, since you'll be protecting all of us, I'll be free to protect you. After all, I can't be the jobless one, can I?" She turned around to face him, and gave his surprised face, a small smile, "You showed me your true power. I suppose its time to show you mine. Don't be too late, or else you'll miss the end."

Kyoko turned away and walked slowly towards Ayano and Ren, fruitlessly attacking from a distance.

 _Hear me, spirits of Fire. Entrust me with your power._

Flames burst into existence around her. Balls of _purple flame_ hit the dragon continuously. Ayano and Ren turned to look at her and their jaws almost touched the ground. She flicked her now-red hair away and smiled smugly at their faces. She had just summoned the famous _purple flames of purification_ that until then, only Jugo was known to summon, and he had _decades_ of experience over her. Her eyes shone with the power of the spirits.

She walked right in front of the fallen dragon. She lightly tapped its nose and it crumbled into ash. She set fire to the church with a flick of her wrist and the mad blonde who thought he could destroy two contractors by killing a few hundred people, was left unconscious. For now. A naked Misao lay nearby.

"Kazuma?"

"Yes?" She was not at all surprised to hear his voice right behind her. She _was_ a sensor and her abilities were enhanced to a ridiculous degree when she was invoking the contract.

"Give me your jacket and turn around." There was a brief amused silence.

"Yeah, yeah. So bossy." She took the jacket from him and went closer to Misao.

"Wake up, Misao. I've got ice-cream!" Kyoko half-sang. A soft chuckle escaped Misao as she opened her eyes.

"Kyoko! It stopped working on me a long time ago." Misao still looked searchingly at Kyoko's pockets. Kyoko dropped Kazuma's jacket on Misao and she continued to look though _them,_ before coming up empty. She almost pouted at Kyoko. "Liar!"

"Oi. Oi. You're the liar." Kyoko poked her cheek. Misao slapped her hands away and put her hands on Kyoko's cheek and squeezed. "Ekk!"

Misao turned Kyoko around and showed Kazuma her fish-like face. He chuckled at her. Kyoko made bonds of fire to pull Misao's hands away. She sighed in relief and ignored Misao's protests about 'cheating'. Misao made a noise of giving in and she released the bonds with a smug smile, both of them still sitting on the ground.

"So, you're revealing your secret?" Misao lightly touched her hair.

"You knew?" Ren came running to them. Kazuma looked a little surprised, too.

"Ah. Actually, Misao was my best friend before I started travelling. She knew everything about me. I was adopted into the Kanagi family _because_ I was a contractor. I was kind of out of control too. But Misao helped me. I kind of…idolized her?" She let out a sheepish laugh as Kazuma looked at her with amusement. Yeah. Even she remembered the way she had threatened Misao.

"You're strange." Kyoko looked up at Kazuma and gave him a shy smile.

"Yeah. I think so, too."

Snow fell gently as they stood under their umbrella. Kyoko just walked around in the snow and let her hair get wet from the snow. Kazuma just made sure snow never touched him. She was _very_ impressed by his show of control. But she enjoyed the snow. After all, she doubted she could get sick. She stuck her tongue out and snow fell on it. Before she could pull her tongue back in her mouth, a hand caught her tongue.

"Ka-gu-a! Eg go!"

"What? Cat got your tongue?" She narrowed her eyes at his amused look before she exhaled fire into his hand. He flinched away from it and she gave him a smug smile. Ren and Ayano gave twin eye rolls.

"Hello Kazuma, Kyoko." Misao gave a small laugh. Kyoko's eyes widened comically and she gave Misao's clothes a scandalized look. Misao just laughed harder. "Let's walk." Kyoko followed her friend as she led them down a path through the bamboo forest.

"So you decided to run away to a nunnery?" Kyoko gave the clothes a distasteful glance.

"Not really, Kyoko. Master Jugo decided it would be a good life for me."

"Jugo? Typical." Kyoko ignored Kazuma.

"Since when did you start listening to Jugo? Did your family leave you alone, in the end?" Misao gave Kyoko a smile.

"After the way you declared that you would destroy anyone who tried to hurt me, they left me alone. They still continued their alliance, of course. You made a fearsome reputation while you were travelling. No one wanted to risk your wrath. Jugo asked my opinion on this solution, and I agreed. I wouldn't want you to suffer a backlash that you would receive had if I stayed." Kyoko put her arm around Misao's shoulder.

"You don't have to worry about me. I can handle myself. I'm not that much of a hothead either." Misao glanced at Kazuma before looking at Kyoko.

"Is that so? We'll see what happens." Misao smiled at the slight redness on Kyoko's cheeks. "Kazuma?" Misao stopped walking and looked at Kazuma. "Can I ask you something?" Kazuma made a noise of approval, "After all the terrible things I'd done to you, why did you try to save me? It would have been so much easier for you to destroy the dragon with me inside of it. So, why?"

"I have a good memory." Kazuma spared Kyoko a glance and she knew what he thought. _A good memory of everything except her._ Kazuma relived his memory of his life when he was bullied by a few kids of the Kanagi Clan and he told them about how Misao had come to his rescue.

"Wait. So you're telling me that, you saved me because I saved you when we were children?"

"Yeah, guess its something like that." Kyoko smiled at them before barging into the conversation.

"I remember that too. Misao was actually with me when she saw you getting bullied. That was the first time I saw you." She looked at Kazuma and scratched her cheek. "Misao was so cool then. I really looked up to her because of that. I thought that they would hurt Misao but she didn't even flinch. Not like fire could harm her, but the basic principle of it was just…" She looked at Misao and smiled. "I never could look Misao as plain or weak." Misao was blushing with embarrassment but she refrained from saying anything. They walked Misao back soon after.

"Bye, Misao. I'll drop in sometime since you still haven't repaid me." Kazuma was obviously baiting her.

"Misao, be a dear and give me a call any time Kazuma comes. I'll be here in a flash. I'll protect you from his unpleasantness."Misao gave a soft laugh.

"Sure, Kyoko, Kazuma. Come by anytime."

"Bye, Misao." Ayano and Ren chorused. She waved at Misao and turned to follow Kazuma. She glanced up into the sky just as the wind blew through her hair. She looked down the stairs to see Kazuma looking at her and behind him, Ayano and Ren stood, looking at her expectantly.

"It's a beautiful wind, isn't it?" And no one witnessed the bow that Misao gave nor the soft knowing smile that spread across her lips.

A dark smile spread across Kyoko's face.

"Let's start, shall we?" A quiet whimper sounded from a lump on the ground. "Don't worry. No one will hear you even if you decide to scream. This house, you see, is mine. And it has sound proof walls." Another whimper came. Kyoko roughly pulled down the gag and let him gasp in air.

"I'll tell you what you want to know. Just don't kill me." She chuckled.

"Now, now. That's my decision. If you have anything important to tell me, I'll consider not killing you. But if I suspect you of lying, you will suffer. A lot."

"I'll tell you. I won't lie."

"Good. Now, speak." Kyoko felt the black flames cover her body and slither slowly towards Micheal. He wouldn't survive either way. If he escaped, his _master_ would find him and get him to tell him about her. And she wouldn't want that, would she? "Speak. Or suffer."


End file.
